2014 LPMN State Convention

Registration is open for an action-packed 2014 convention on Saturday, April 26! In addition to our keynote speaker, nationally respected libertarian journalist Ben Swann, our convention will feature speakers and workshops offering practical and fun ways you can LIVE FREE. Come hear what Libertarians have to offer, and be a part of the future!

The convention schedule and attendance package options are listed below, and these will continue to be updated as we announce additional speakers and workshops. Be sure to stop into the LPMN Hospitality Suite for refreshments, snacks, and a chance to network with your fellow lovers of liberty. And yes, the hotel’s bar, located just outside the convention hall, is open throughout the afternoon and evening of the event. The convention is an “open media day”. All who attend are free to record the proceedings and speakers, and post them online as they wish. (An exception is the morning Business Session, which will be at the Chair’s discretion.)

For social media users, the hashtag for the event is #LPMN2014.

9 am to 5:30pm – ON-SITE REGISTRATION and BADGE PICK-UP:

The registration and badge pick-up station is located in the lobby of the hotel, in front of the convention hall. Attendees can also renew or become an LPMN member at the registration table. The LPMN Hospitality Suite, located up the stairs from the convention hall, will open and have coffee, tea, and rolls.

Note: Registration remains open through the introductory speakers and breakout sessions. Feel free to come to all or part of this great event!

9:30 am – ROBERT’S RULES PRIMER:

Parliamentary Procedure + Kung-Fu = Parli-Fu: Robert’s Rules as a Martial Art
Parliamentary Procedure can appear arcane and mystical to the occasional participant, so we’ve devised a white-belt level course for those interested in learning this deadly art. Topics covered include: making a proper motion, raising simple points, and much more. No previous knowledge is required.

10 am – BUSINESS SESSION:

Delegates of the Libertarian Party of Minnesota (state party members at least 45 days prior to the convention) are eligible to vote on all party business matters. On the table are bylaws change proposals, elections for Judicial Committee seats, election of Minnesota delegates to the National Libertarian Convention in Columbus Ohio (to be held June 26-29), and nominations and endorsements of candidates for several 2014 races. Those who attend but aren’t delegates are free to observe the proceedings.

Note: All candidates seeking to be nominated or endorsed at the convention, for any office, must provide basic information about their candidacy to the LPMN leadership by April 18.

12 noon – LUNCH:

Attendees can break for lunch at their leisure, and check-in to their room if staying overnight.

1 pm – INTRODUCTORY SPEAKERS:

After a welcome to attendees by LPMN Chair David Arvidson, convention Emcee Julia Schliesing takes over and introduces the afternoon speakers. The speakers cover topics that offer liberty solutions to today’s challenges. More speakers may be added, so check back again soon!

2014 State Convention Emcee Julia Schliesing is a Political Science major at the University of Minnesota and the reigning Miss Minneapolis for 2014. She’s also an Ambassador at Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. (Photo credit: Rikk Flohr of Fleeting Glimpse Images.)

Alicia Ascheman is a current LPMN member and an elected Libertarian to the Pine City School Board. She’ll talk about her experience as a successful candidate and the important liberty challenges facing schools this year.

Roger Parras is a current LPMN member and an elected Libertarian serving on the St Peter City Council. He’ll cover the importance of running for local office and his experience as a liberty-supporting elected official.

Elizabeth Dahl is a current LPMN member who is passionate about creating community wherever she goes. Her presentation is “So You Think You Don’t Have Time For Politics?” She is a stay-at-home mom to 3 children under 6 years old, operates her own small business and is currently running for City Council in Crystal, Minnesota this year. She believes a strong neighborhood community could be one of your greatest assets, both as an individual or a candidate. To truly bring about peace and liberty, we must start where we live!

Aaron Gall is just a guy who got sick of people treating other people like crap. His presentation is on how #LibertariansDoItVoluntarily. Aaron discusses the direct giving project he created called “Let’s Warm the City”, which provided blankets and clothes to Duluth homeless and is spreading to other cities. He’ll suggest ways YOU can get involved in giving directly to those in need, bypassing government intervention.

Andrew Johnson is a former Corrections Officer who has worked in both maximum and medium security prisons. He has a BS in Criminal Justice from Winona State University. His topic is “Am I being detained?” Know your rights when you are stopped or questioned by police.

S.L. Malleck is the LPMN Vice Chair. He will not be speaking about “common core”, standardized testing, or education “reform”. His topic will be Education Revolution! He’ll offer a vision of the revolutionary leap forward that we could see with a true market-based educational system, over the government monopoly we have today.

Judge Jay Quam is a sitting judge for Hennepin County District Court. Judge Quam is on hand to discuss Jury Nullification in Minnesota. He’ll cover what Minnesota law says about nullification, what the rights and responsibilities are of jurors, and some legal history of nullification in Minnesota.

2:15 pm – BREAK:

A 15-minute break between the afternoon speakers and the workshops.

2:30 pm – WORKSHOPS :

Attendees are welcome to check out one or more of these workshops, which are staggered in three session timeslots during this segment of the convention. The workshops are divided into two tracks – an Agorist Track and a Political Activist Track. Ateendees are welcome to sample from both tracks. More workshops will be added, so check back!

Workshops – Agorism Track:

Building Your Way to Freedom:
Would you like to eliminate your mortgage/rent payment and starve the twin beasts of Government and Corporatism? Laura and Matt LaVoie built and live in their 120 square foot off the grid home near Asheville, North Carolina. They’ll share their philosophy of deliberate living, how they built and live in their off the grid tiny house, and the lessons they’ve learned from their self-sufficient lifestyle. You can read about their home and lifestyle at their blog www.120squarefeet.com and in the book 120 Ideas for Tiny Living available on Amazon.

Basics of Bitcoin: Corey Sinz is an LPMN member, has a Bachelors degree in Business Management and is a Bitcoin miner. His main goals are to help other individuals become more free by a revolution of the mind and getting Firefly back on the air for another season. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin has been all over the news, but what is it? Why has it become so popular? What can we use it for? This and more, on the basics of Bitcoin.

Home-Brewing for Fun & Tax Avoidance: Cara Schulz is an LPMN Executive and author of (Almost) Foolproof Mead Making. She’ll show you how to get the government out of your liquor cabinet by brewing your own mead and hard cider. Easy, inexpensive, delicious, and (almost) foolproof methods and recipes are demonstrated — and you’ll have the sweet taste of not paying liquor tax on your hootch.

Workshops – Political Activism Track:

How to be the Most Sexy and Interesting Person at Dinner Parties while Talking about Libertarian Ideas: Tylor Slinger is the LPMN CD2 Affiliate Chair, facilitates a weekly economic meetup, has previously served on state advisory committees, and has testified before various legislative subcommittees on educational issues. His workshop is about framing the liberty message. Many people will tell you there are two topics off-limits for polite conversation: religion and politics. But how do you spread the wonderfully powerful and exciting ideas of liberty without setting up a booth at Thanksgiving dinner or pamphleting at your friend’s party? Let’s get together and discuss some proven strategies for winning hearts and minds!

Petitioning Training: Help get Libertarian candidates on the ballot:Andy Burns is the LPMN Executive Director. His workshop will be focused on petitioning for our statewide Libertarian candidates, giving you the best techniques, tips, and info on state requirements to be the most effective petitioner for liberty. Think you can’t gather many signatures, we’ll prove you otherwise. Petitioning for signatures occurs May 20-June 3 and is the first vital step toward achieving major party status, and with a narrow 2 week window, we need all hands on deck!

Run, Forest, Run!
David Arvidson is the LPMN Chair and an entrepreneur, Ron Paul activist, and former state House candidate. He’ll be speaking with anyone who is considering running for elected office and answering questions. David is leading this workshop, along with Joe McKenzie.

Run, Forest, Run!Joe McKenzie is an entrepreneur with his company Ripple Connects. He’ll offer guidance to those running for office or getting active in support of a candidate on how a Libertarian can truly “connect” with voters. In the 2013 election year, Joe provided training and field support for Libertarian candidates running for City Council offices.

Gun Rights in Minnesota: Where we came from, where we are, and where we’re goingAndrew Rothman is president of Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance, the 25-year-old grassroots protector of Minnesotans’ gun rights. He also teaches carry classes and has certified more than 100 carry instructors. Andrew talks about how the history of gun rights in Minnesota has been a series of ups and downs. How free are we now? How did we get here? And what can you do to protect your rights.

Go Galt.ioAlex Huff is the President and CTO of Galt.io, a social network to create and support causes for individual liberty. The network is focused on local activism through location-based search and mobile GPS. This is the modern definition of “Think Global, Act Local.” Alex is an accomplished entrepreneur, inventor, and technologist with almost 20 years experience in starting or steering over a dozen technology companies.

5:30 pm – DINNER BUFFET or DINNER ON YOUR OWN:

A one-hour break will be taken for dinner, before the keynote speakers. Attendees have the choice to sign up for the dinner buffet, or to enjoy dinner on their own (there are several restaurants in the area). The dinner buffet will offer barbeque chicken, pulled pork, herb-roasted red potatoes, coleslaw, rolls, garden salad with assorted dressings, and dessert. Ask anyone who enjoyed the buffet last year, it’s amazing!

6:30 pm – COCKTAILS:

Attendees are invited to network over beer and wine in the hotel bar outside the convention hall, while the hall is reset for the keynote speakers. Or they may stop into the LPMN Hospitality Suite for a quieter moment.

7 pm – KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

Rich Neumeister believes in order to LIVE FREE, one has to KEEP IT FREE. Yet how can you stay free when everyone from federal authorities to your local police department can spy on your personal communications? Law enforcement across the nation are using devices to extract data from cellphones, often without a warrant. Is this happening in Minnesota? And if so, what can we do about it? Rich Neumeister has spent over 30 years as an activist dedicated to better protect privacy rights and transparency in government. According to the Pioneer Press,”Former Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent Tim O’Malley once called Neumeister a “fly in the ointment” of attempts by law enforcement to make it easier to wiretap and track bad guys through GPS monitoring, or in legislative fights to open or close records for public safety or crime-fighting reasons.” You can, and should, follow him on twitter @richneumeister

Ben Swann has spent 15 years working as a journalist in broadcast news. Moving his way up through the ranks from news photographer to primetime anchor, Ben became the main anchor at WXIX, Fox 19 in Cincinnati Ohio. It was at Fox 19 that Ben became the producer/writer/anchor of a segment called “Reality Check”. While covering the 2012 Republican Presidential primary, Swann began to confront problems in the American electoral process, the stranglehold of America’s two-party system, and the suppression of voters’ choices by mainstream media.

After receiving international acclaim on for his Reality Check series, which was viewed by people in 140 countries over 10 million times, Ben set out to launch his own media company and the Truth in Media Project in 2013. Today, you can find Ben’s work at benswann.com, and on his Roku and Youtube channels.

THE AFTER PARTY!

The convention will conclude … but the party is just starting! Most people think prohibition ended in 1933, but we know prohibition is alive and (unfortunately) well in the state of Minnesota. Marijuana is still illegal as are liquor sales on Sunday. But don’t let that get you down! Join with fellow attendees and enjoy beer, hard cider, moonshine, and bathtub gin as we join Minnesota NORML in working to END PROHIBITION!

LOCATION AND ACCOMMODATIONS

The convention will be held at the Cambria Suites Hotel in Maple Grove, northern Twin Cities metro. Photos and general information about this facility can be seen here. For those who wish to stay overnight, you may contact the hotel at 763-494-5556763-494-5556.

The Hotel & Convention Center’s address is:

Cambria Suites Hotel
9655 Grove Circle N
Maple Grove, MN 55369

T-shirts:

We have an official 2014 LPMN Convention tee this year, in addition to a new LPMN “Not Left, Not Right, Libertarian” tee. When you register you’ll have the option to pre-order both of these. We can’t guarantee we’ll have any of the “Don’t Spy on Me” 2014 Convention shirts left by April 26th, as we have a very limited quantity available … only 25. Order now!

When you register, let us know what size you want by using the “comments” box.

GUARANTEED SEATING OPTION

The LPMN is also offering an extra feature!For an additional $100, you can have guaranteed seating with featured keynote speaker Ben Swann during the buffet dinner. For those interested, you must act now! There are only 3 seats available, so we expect these seats to be claimed quickly. Sorry, we wish the tables were larger!THIS IS SOLD OUT

Attendees are welcome to walk-in and register the day of the convention, but we strongly encourage you to pre-register. By pre-registering:

You’ll be assured a seat in the convention hall. With the recent surge of interest in the Libertarian Party, a nationally known and popular keynote speaker, and solid workshop presenters on popular topics, there’s a strong probability we may reach the hall’s capacity.

You’ll be assured availability of the dinner buffet, which cannot be guaranteed for those who register later.

This year’s convention will be a memorable event, so don’t miss it! Great speakers, exciting new topics, an after-party where you’ll meet like-minded people who may become lifelong friends, and a level of activism that will soon rock Minnesota’s political world! We’ll see you there!

Upcoming Events

The business meeting starts at 7pm. Like all formal meetings, we approve the minutes, have officer and standing committee reports, follow up on old business goals, and cover new business. The public is welcome to attend.

The business meeting starts at 7pm. Like all formal meetings, we approve the minutes, have officer and standing committee reports, follow up on old business goals, and cover new business. The public is welcome to attend.

The business meeting starts at 7pm. Like all formal meetings, we approve the minutes, have officer and standing committee reports, follow up on old business goals, and cover new business. The public is welcome to attend.

Ken AltShouldn't be a permit process to start with. He owns the land, and wanted to put up a small wind turbine. No government required.

1 day ago · 11

Rachel EricksonDon't share videos from David Wolfe! The man is a modern day snake oil salesman who posts unrelated things that are likely to get engagement (cute, interesting, enraging) to get people to like his page so they can see how doctors are evil, vaccines will make you sick, the earth is flat (seriously), and you should buy ridiculously expensive supplements from his online store.
Every time you share something from his page, you support him.

23 hours ago · 2

Jeff JohnstonYes he should have paid an arbitrary fee and asked permission to alter his own private property, SMH. statists gonna state

1 day ago · 2

Jeremy K JohnsonBecause the government doesn't have a tax for his private wind turbine. They gotta get theirs.

Robert NewmanTotally outrageous! This is why I was praying for Gary Johnson to become our next POTUS! He'd certainly encourage people to use this type of resource. Our current Government is SO MESSED UP!! And it's ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE!!!!!

Weed is winning in the polls, with a solid majority of Americans saying marijuana should be legal. But does that mean the federal government will let dozens of state pot experiments play out? Not by a...

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About LPMN

The LPMN is Minnesota's 3rd largest party and the only party which respects you as a unique and responsible individual. Our vision is for a world in which all individuals can freely exercise the natural right of sole dominion over their own lives, liberty and property by electing Libertarians to public office and moving public policy in a libertarian direction.

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